Federer in Final, Hewitt Ousted, Stosur Reaches First WTA Final

Posted on January 8, 2005

Dent Put in Hewitt Aussie Open Preparation at ATP Adelaide

American Taylor Dent says he welcomes the Aussie heat in his newfound state of fitness, and on Friday welcomed the opportunity to test his booming serve against one of the best returners in the game, with the No. 5 seed defeating top-seeded Lleyton Hewitt 7-6(4), 6-3.

"The key to my game, in fact the key to any serve-and-volleyer's game is the serve," Dent said. "He's probably the best returner in the game, and I went into the match thinking if I hold the whole game, that's a hell of a match."

Hewitt brushed off the loss by downgrading Adelaide and the ATP events in his quest for the slams, particularly his first Australian Open title.

"When you've been No. 1 in the world for a couple of years and won a couple of slams and whatever else that's been, you look at the big picture and what motivates you," Hewitt said, "and that's the grand slams and Melbourne's as big for me as any of the four. Even if I don't win Sydney next week it's no big deal."

No word yet if Sydney officials were planning on leaving a welcoming bouquet of flowers at the hotel for the former Aussie No. 1.

Also into the semis were (2) Joachim "Pim-Pim" Johansson (d. Enqvist 6-1 in the third), (4) Juan Ignacio Chela (d. (8) Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer 6-2 in the third), and unseeded Belgian Olivier "The Roach" Rochus (d. (3) Nicolas Kiefer, coming from a set down).

Saturday's semifinal match-ups in Adelaide are (2) Pim-Pim vs. The Roach (first tour meeting) and (4) Chela vs. (5) Dent (the American won their lone meeting last year in five sets at the Aussie Open).

"I played Rochus in Luxembourg (challenger) last year and it was a great match that I won 7-6, 7-5," Pim-Pim said. "He is a really tough opponent and I think he showed that against Kiefer and he will be tough to beat."

Federer to Face Ljubicic in ATP Doha Final

World No. 1 Roger Federer rolled into the ATP Doha final Friday with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Russian No. 8 seed Nikolay Davydenko, his 20th consecutive match win stretching back to the beginning of the 2004 US Open.

"I could have played better, that was very clear," Federer said. "I missed many forehands, which I usually make. But again, I never lost my serve during this year, during this tournament. That's great. You have to do something right if you don't lose your serve. For this reason I'm happy."

In the final the Swiss will face big-serving Croatian and No. 6 seed Ivan Ljubicic, who edged former Roland Garros winner Al Costa 6-3, 7-6(4).

"I feel fantastic here. Every time I step onto the courts here I feel confident, even if I'm not playing great tennis," Ljubicic said. "I have to say it's an unbelievable feeling to be in the final here again. I'm looking forward to play against Roger. He is my friend and he is a fantastic player."

It is the first final for Ljubicic since one year ago in Doha when he was beaten by French wildcard Nicolas Escude.

Federer and Ljubicic have split their six meetings on tour, with the Croatian winning the most recent at Basel in 2003. Federer is unbeaten in his last 13 finals going back to Vienna in 2003. His undefeated streak in finals is a new Open Era (since 1968) record. He was previously tied with Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe with 12 consecutive finals won.

The doubles final will be Andrei Pavel and Mikhail Youzhny against the Spanish tandem of Costa and Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal.

Moya, Srichaphan Advance Toward 2004 Rematch at ATP Chennai

Top-seeded Carlos Moya (d. Mathieu) and No. 2 Paradorn "The Thai Fighter" Srichaphan (d. Vliegen) advanced to the semifinals Friday at the Chennai Open, one win each from a repeat of the 2004 championship match.

"I knew it was going to be difficult because he beat me the last time we played (in the 2004 Davis Cup semifinals)," Moya said.

Two unseeded players rounded out the semis Friday in Spain's Guillermo "G-Lo" Garcia-Lopez (d. Tabara) and Czech Tomas Zib (d. Gimelstob).

Saturday's match-ups are (1) Moya vs. the No. 128-ranked G-Lo (first meeting) in an all-Spanish, and (2) The Thai Fighter vs. Zib.

Moya's match against practice partner G-Lo could be a tester.

"I know him quite well, I have practiced with him several times," Moya said. "He is a rising player who hits the ball quite hard. As every match, it will be a difficult one."

Stosur Provides Homecountry Thrills at WTA Gold Coast

Aussie Sam Stosur rode the homecountry wave to her first WTA Tour final Friday at Gold Coast, outlasting No. 5 seed Silvia Farina Elia 6-4, 2-6, 6-1.

"I don't think there's necessarily any more pressure on me tomorrow than there has been the whole week," the unseeded Stosur said. "I want to win the final and get my first title and hopefully it happens at home."

Stosur will have her hands full in the final against No. 2 seed Patty Schnyder, who had to come from a set down to beat French teen Tatiana "Hot Pants" Golovin 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. Reversing the psychology, the Swiss said her long three-setter was actually a plus going into the final.

"I'm happy that I had a longer match," Schnyder said. "I'm playing well and I had to step up my game because she was hitting the ball really good today."

It will be the first meeting between Schnyder and Stosur. The doubles final will feature the Russian/Bulgarian combo of No. 2-seeded Likhovtseva/Maleeva against unseeded Italians Camerin/Farina Elia.

Top-seeded Frazier Comfortably Into Semis at WTA Auckland

The rain relented Friday at the WTA stop at Auckland, where three seeded players moved into the semifinals.

Top-seeded Amy "Joltin' Joe" Frazier (d. Tatiana "The Pocket Baseliner" Panova in three) struggled to uphold her No. 1 standing, while No. 4 Shinobu Asagoe led 6-2 before receiving the retirement win against qualifier Janette Husarova who suffered an ab injury, and No. 5 Marion Bartoli put aside pain from an injured shoulder to outlast No. 2 seed Jelena Jankovic 6-1 in the third. That was a long sentence.

Also into the semis was unseeded Slovak Katarina "Robotnik" Srebotnik, who dismissed Israeli teen Shahar Peer in straights.

New Zealand fans had something to cheer about when doubles wildcard Leanne Baker, paired with Italian Francesca Lubiani, won two matches on the day (the second by injury retirement) to advance to the final where she will face the top-seeded team of Asagoe/Robotnik.

Saturday's singles match-ups are Frazier vs. Asagoe, and Robotnik vs. Bartoli.

X-NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Martina Hingis hinted to Reuters that a comeback is in the making if she does well in her charity wildcard appearance at the Volvo Women's Open in Pattaya starting Jan. 31...Maria "Cell Phone Mannequin" Sharapova pulled from the Hong Kong exo Friday with a stomach virus...Serena Williams says she feels "all right now" and ready for the Australian Open, even though she pulled from the singles at the Hong Kong exo this week due to her ongoing abdominal injury: "I'm a perfectionist and I do expect nothing but the best from myself. I think that's a good thing to have in anything whether it's sports or whatever." When was the last time Serena gave the media/fans the straight scoop on an injury or mental state or -- anything?...The Associated Press reports that Justine Henin-Hardenne pulled from Sydney and the Australian Open with a knee injury.